One quiet ceremony helped frame everything that followed. In late August 1975, Fenway Park watched as Luis Tiant Jr.’s father stepped onto the mound to throw out the first pitch, days after arriving in Boston from Cuba with Fidel Castro’s permission. It marked the first time father and son had been together in 15 years, though their reunion had already begun privately earlier that week. Weeks later, Tiant Jr. shut out the Reds in the opening game of the World Series, forever linking that season to family and sacrifice. The meaning deepened when both of his parents passed away just over a year later, only days apart.